


It's Called Caving

by ladysekhmetka



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Camping, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humanstuck, Leave No Trace, Multi, Polyamory, caving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 05:30:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6457771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladysekhmetka/pseuds/ladysekhmetka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aradia and Nepeta take Dave on his first caving adventure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Called Caving

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buttmaster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttmaster/gifts).



The sun peeked over the mountain horizon, bathing the clearing in the forest with warm light for the first time that day. Aradia took a sip of coffee, watching wispy clouds move across the sky. The weather forecast had claimed the weekend would be perfect for camping and caving. She was very glad that the claims were correct. The tent that she had shared with her two loves stood on one side of the campsite and the tent of their fellow cavers stood on the other side. There was a weathered wooden picnic table between the two, put there by the landowner for campers to use. Someone had brought a large plastic tarp and stretched it over the table with some poles and rope for a makeshift dining fly.

There was a startled yelp from behind her. Aradia turned to see Nepeta and one of the other cavers, a tiny woman she couldn't remember the name of, standing by the camp stove. Nepeta waggled her hand like she hurt it. The other woman was trying to get her to hold still to look at her hand. “Are you okay?” she asked her girlfriend.

“ I'm fine!” Nepeta yelled back as she let her hand be examined. “See, I just pinched it, Ophelia” she said quietly to the other woman.

“ Oh, that's good,” Ophelia replied. She turned back to the camp stove where they had breakfast cooking. “What do you think? Five minutes? I've never cooked rabbit before.”

Nepeta hummed and peered at the frying pan. “Yeah, if you want to get your furriends, I'll watch this.” The woman smiled and nodded and walked toward the other tent. Aradia watched her go with a friendly smile. She moved over and kissed Nepeta briefly on the lips. Nepeta smiled smugly at her and stood on her toes to give her a kiss on the cheek before stealing Aradia's cup of coffee. “Go wake up Mister Sleepyhead,” Nepeta said before sipping at the coffee and making a face at the bitter taste.

“ Sure,” Aradia replied with a grin. “I'll be back in an hour.”

Nepeta laughed and made a shooing motion at her. Aradia moved toward the tent. There weren't any sounds of motion, but Aradia could hear Dave mumbling in his sleep as she unzipped the door. She crawled in halfway, kicked off her shoes, and closed the door behind her. Curled up in one of her older sleeping bags, Dave slept. An 'ironically' gaudy stocking hat covered his blond hair. Aradia grinned and crawled over to him to snuggle up behind him and stick her nose against his neck. He tried to shift away, but she pulled him back close. “Hey sweetie,” she said softly. “Time to wake up.”

Dave groaned and suddenly rolled over to bury his face in her chest. “Don't wanna,” he mumbled to her cleavage. “It's warm and comfy here, like a baby in their swaddling, mornings are evil...”

Aradia kissed the top of his head. “So, should I tell Nepeta that you don't want any of the yummy food she hunted and cooked for you?”

“ Fuck, low blow,” Dave replied sleepily. “She'll tie me down and make sad faces at me until I feel like the lowest scum bag. You're the mean girlfriend.”

“ I know,” Aradia replied cheerfully. “The absolute meanest. Come on, you need to get up anyway! I want to get to the cave before ten!”

He sighed, but didn't resist as Aradia helped him sit up. Dave yawned, rubbed his sleep crusted eyes, and peered at her blearily. The sleeping bag slipped down off his shoulders, and he shivered as his skin was bared to cool mountain air. Aradia handed him a long sleeved shirt and he shrugged into it with a wince. “Damn, I feel like the ground beat my ass down like I owed it money. How do you and Kitten do it?”

“ Maybe we beat the ground back,” Aradia teased as she flexed her arms. “We're not soft city folk.”

Dave leaned against her. “My tough ladies. I'm going to need a rub down later from both of you Amazons.”

Aradia laughed and pulled him in for a kiss. “I don't think you could handle both of us,” she said cheerfully, leering at him. “Now finish getting dressed while I supervise.”

Looking a little more awake, Dave rolled his eyes with a tiny little grin. “Not even going to give a lady privacy? You cad!”

Aradia didn't reply, merely grinned a little wider. Dave sighed, but started to pull his clothing on. The last thing he put on was his sunglasses, hiding his sensitive red eyes from sunlight and the world. They exited the tent, pulling on their shoes as they left. Aradia casually strolled to the picnic table, arm in arm with her boyfriend. Three people sat there. Aradia could only remember the name of one of them, a thoughtful looking woman named Pietra that she had caved with before. She was the other expert caver on the trip. On either side sat a tall, aristocratic woman and the only other man in the group. They all greeted them as Aradia and Dave approached. “Good morning!” Pietra said cheerfully as they sat. “Did you guys sleep well?”

Aradia giggled and wiggled her eyebrows. “Sure, we  _ slept _ very well, but some people fell asleep faster than others!”

The taller woman snorted in surprise and Dave made an affronted noise, but rolled with it. “Hey, I'm only human, I can't help it against two Amazonian opponents.”

Pietra and the other guy laughed, but the taller woman looked a little perturbed by the conversation. Further discussion was interrupted by Nepeta and Ophelia carrying over two serving bowls, one filled with a breakfast scramble and the other bread. “Irsia, take a breath,” Ophelia said to the woman. “Here, take the bread.”

“I caught the rabbit myself,” Nepeta bragged, looking at Dave expectantly and tilting her head. Dave quietly reached over to pet her head. “Hmm, I saved the skeleton for you Dave, but it has to be cleaned first.”

“ Dead thing gift?” Dave said. “Fuck yeah!”

“ Dork,” Nepeta teased before sitting next to him. “Aradia, I have enough bunny hide for a pair of moccasins now, so when I can get back to the reservation, I'll start making them.”

Grinning, Aradia spooned some food on her plate. “Yay! Dead thing gift!” she exclaimed as she passed the bowl. Dave gave her a high-five. “Thank you, kitten.”

After breakfast, the group started to get ready for the cave. Aradia spread out her gear, making sure that nothing was worn or damaged. Her caving helmet was new, custom-colored burgundy with gray straps to hold it in place. Her coverall was starting to look a little beat up, and she made a mental note that it would need to be replaced soon. The caving gloves were brand new. She had two headlamps, a handheld flashlight, and spare batteries for all three, just in case, and two candles with matches double bagged in plastic. Finally, she had a first aid kit, a water canteen, and some energy bars for snacks. She carefully packed everything into her backpack except for her helmet, which she clipped to a loop on the pack.

She glanced over at Nepeta and Dave; Nepeta was going over the gear spread around them with Dave, their heads close to each other. Aradia crawled up behind them both and ran her fingers through Nepeta's hair and over her scalp. Nepeta paused mid sentence and leaned into the touch. “Hmm, Aradia, I'm trying to give Dave the rundown.”

“ I'm not stopping you,” Aradia replied.

Nepeta was practically purring at this point. “Can't think, keep scratching.”

“ Poor Kitten,” Aradia replied, and did as she asked. Nepeta groaned and leaned harder against her. Aradia looked around at Dave. “Excited yet?”

Dave shrugged. “I guess? Why can't I just stay back here with Renzo again?”

Aradia frowned before she realized he was talking about the other guy at the campsite. “Because we wanted you to spend time with us, right Nepeta?”

“ Uh huh.” Nepeta replied in a daze.

“ That and you wanted to take some 'sick-nasty pics' of some cave formations.”

“ Oh yeah,” Dave replied. He picked up a flashlight in a hand. “Why do you take so many flashlights when you go spelunking? You try to light up everything?”

Aradia gritted her teeth at the word. “When you go caving, you take extras because it's  _ very  _ dark in a cave. It's hard enough to know where to go when you do have light, but it's very easy to get lost in pitch darkness. Things can go wrong and your headlamp can run out of power.”

“ And that's how people die in caves,” Nepeta said drowsily.

“ Any other questions, love?” Aradia asked.

“ Scratch my head too?” Dave asked with a pout.

She did so playfully, tousling his hair. “Is your gear all set then?

“ I don't know,” Dave admitted. “Is my gear set, Kitten?”

“ Purrhaps,” Nepeta replied. “Putting your life in my paws?”

“ Anytime,” Dave replied, kissing her hands.

Nepeta laughed and joined Aradia in scratching his scalp. He flopped across their laps, pretending to swoon. Aradia giggled as well. “Yeah, his gear is good, though I'm taking his word on his camera. My gear is good too.”

Aradia kissed each of them lightly, then shoved Dave back upright. “Well then, let's get going!” she said brightly. She stood and looked over at the other side of the campsite where the rest of the caving expedition sat going over their own gear. “Hey, are you ladies ready?”

“ Ready when you are!” Pietra called back.

They assembled together and started the fifteen minute hike to the cave entrance through the forest. The system of cavern had been discovered in the 1980s and conservation efforts had kept it almost as pristine as the day it had been found. It wasn't a difficult cave, something that even a beginner like Dave could make it through. They arrived at the entrance, a small gash in the side of the mountain and a little clearing cleared of vegetation around it. A small wooden sign declared 'The Dempton Caves', named after the caver who discovered it.

Everyone got ready, pulling on their helmets and coveralls that would have been too hot for the hike but were perfect for the cooler temperatures of the caves. Aradia strapped her headlamp over her helmet and looked over to see Dave struggling with the straps of the helmet she had loaned him. “Are you okay there, cool kid?” Aradia teased.

“ I'm so okay,” Dave replied as he finally got the straps around his jaw. “See, I'm completely capable of wearing a helmet on my own, don't send me back to the kid's table, mom.”

Aradia laughed and reached over to straighten the helmet and tighten the chin straps. “I don't know, we'll have to ask your father. Nepeta?”

“ Kid's table?” Nepeta replied, clearly confused. “I don't get it.”

“ You know, at Thanksgiving, the rugrats sit at a different table than the adults, so they didn't get bored with all the lame grownup talk?”

“ We didn't celebrate your white man holiday,” Nepeta replied with a grin.

“ So un-American,” Dave sighed.

“ No, you are!” Nepeta replied sticking her tongue out at him.

“ Okay you two,” Aradia interrupted. “Let's focus on the cave now.”

They lined up. Aradia was taking point, the map of the cave firmly in her mind and a copy in her pack just in case. Nepeta was next, then Dave. Irsia, Ophelia and Pietra brought up the rear in that order. The entrance itself was only five feet tall, so even Aradia and Nepeta had to duck down to enter. The first cavern, called the Foyer, was only ten feet wide in diameter. There was just enough space for the six man team. Debris from outside was strewn across the floor. A little bit of light did make it in from the entrance, but not enough to fully illuminate the chamber. Aradia turned on her headlamp and looked around. When everyone was in, Aradia cheerfully grinned and said “The next passage is suppose to be pretty narrow and steep in a few sections. We'll have to go one by one, feet first. Take care where you put your hands.”

“ Why?” Dave asked.

“ Conservation and safety,” replied Irsia. “Put your hand in the wrong place and you can knock rocks loose and maybe hit someone if they're below you.”

“ Exactly,” Aradia replied, turning around to locate the passage in question. “We shouldn't have any problems in this cave, but it's a good habit to have because some caves are less structurally sound.” The passageway was steep, but not to the point of needing climbing gear. Aradia sat down and slid into the tight space feet first. Her headlamp illuminated the walls around her and the dark space in front of her. She wiggled and twisted to the next horizontal surface before looking up at Nepeta and Dave. “Okay, looks good you guys.”

“ Hell yeah,” Dave muttered, peering over Nepeta's shoulder. “Wiggle a little more for us babe! Shimmy down that path!”

“ Oh my god,” said someone from behind them.

Aradia laughed. “Okay, okay, come on Dave, serious mode now.” Dave sighed and nodded. Aradia turned back to the passageway. Moving through a narrow passage feet first was a difficult feat, but far safer than discovering a dip in the passageway with one's face. She could hear Nepeta entering the passage behind her, having far less difficulty with her more toned form. She continued to move, and the passageway opened up, letting her change her position and crawl forward on hands and knees. “It opens up about forty feet in,” she called back.

“ Got it,” Nepeta called back before passing the message along.

Aradia continued forward, placing her hands and knees carefully on the stone. She had gone maybe ten feet when there was a sharp cry of pain behind her. “Everyone okay?” she called back.

“ Shit,” said Dave shortly. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“ Dave?”

“ Dammit, I'm fine,” Dave finally replied, and Aradia sighed in relief. “I think the shades aren't going to be though.”

“ Were you still wearing them?” Nepeta exclaimed.

“ I never take them off,” Dave whined in response.

“ If they're in pieces, you need to make sure you get them all,” Aradia called back. She kept moving and finally reached the end of the passage, the space around her opening up into a colossal cavern that was named Dempton's Hangar. She stood up careful after checking the space above her head. Moments later, Nepeta joined her and then Dave. “Let's see the shades.”

Dave held them out, the frames split in two and the lens cracked. Aradia checked them over carefully for missing pieces. “Are you okay too?” Nepeta asked, taking his face in her hands.

“ Helmet kept the noggin safe as a baby in his mama's arms,” Dave replied as Nepeta checked his face. “Really, I just slipped and the shades didn't make it. Can we say a few words for them later?”

“ What are you going to do when you get back up to the surface? It's going to be super bright.”

“ I have another pair in the tent,” Dave replied nonchalantly, shrugging. “I'll manage until then.”

“ Manage what?” asked Irsia as she exited. “Everything okay?”

“ Yup, everything is fine for the moment,” Aradia replied. “Oh, hey, look at those formations!”

She grabbed Dave's arm and pulled him along, walking down the length of the cavern. The light from everyone's headlamps bounced across stalactites that hung from the ceiling. Their tips were still at least ten feet from their heads. Each formation was colored in rings of warm reds and oranges, each one unique. “Thanks, babe,” Dave muttered.

“ Anytime,” Aradia replied, not saying anything about how sensitive he was about his eyes. “Isn't this great! It's like looking into the past! Thousand of years of dripping water and sediment went into making these. Oh, I like those colors over there, come on, you have to take pictures of them!”

She pulled him to one side, pointing out a cluster of stalactites that were mostly burgundy. Dave laughed and let her guide him to the spot she was pointing at. “Easy there, I'm already sore from the ground beating, don't add to my poor bruised body. Here, hold my bag.”

Aradia grinned and took the bag from him, holding it so Dave could rummage through it. “Ha, you're not that tender.”

Dave made a face and pulled out his camera and a second, separate camera flash. “Here, hold this too.”

“ I'll hold all of your things,” Aradia replied suggestively, taking the flash.

“ Hey now, keep it PG for the ladies with us,” Dave replied, a faint flush across his mostly blank expression. He took the cord from the second flash and plugged the end into a port on his camera. “Not sure some of them could handle it. Hold that flash up?” She did so, pointing it at the formations. Dave removed the lens cap and lifted the camera to start taking pictures. The flash brightened the area briefly, leaving little spots in Aradia's vision. “We don't have to worry about disturbing any bats or anything? Don't wanna be that guy, rolling into someone's crib and flashing bright ass lights at them when they're trying to sleep.

“ You're good,” Aradia replied. “This cave doesn't have any bats. Science isn't sure why, but the theory is that it's because some sections of this cave flood.”

“ Flood?” Dave asked in a deadpan voice.

“ Yup, there's the high water mark on the wall,” Aradia pointed out. “Probably the reason why this cavern doesn't have stalagmites too. It only comes up this high when it's been raining a lot. We should be able to reach the next three caverns before we hit the table water.”

“ Aha, oh my god, I love you,” Dave laughed. He took a few more pictures, shifting this way and that. “Okay, I think I'm done.”

He packed his equipment back. The rest of the group had spread out slightly, looking at the formations above them. “Are we ready to keep going?” Aradia called out.

Nepeta scrambled over to them and pounced Dave for a hug. “Are you having fun?”

“ Did this evil woman tell you this cave floods?” Dave asked.

Her jaw dropped and she looked at Aradia with a pouty face. “Nooooo, she didn't!”

“ It'll be fine,” Aradia replied. “The landowner says it hasn't rained in weeks! It's probably just going to be puddles and mud.”

“ It better be, miss!” Nepeta replied, her serious expression cracking to let Aradia see the amusement under the facade.

The other three caught up to them and Aradia nodded. “Okay, next tunnel is shaped weirdly, but we should be able to remain standing for most of it. This one is going to be muddy and slick, so be careful.”

She lead them to the far side of the cavern where there was a wide opening. It led into a passageway that was tall, but Aradia could see that the ground was very uneven. She stepped up onto a raised surface and moved deeper in. The passage narrowed until it was no more that a gash in the earth. Aradia had to turn sideways to wiggle through a tight section. After the tight section, the passage dropped in a series of muddy platforms. Now, the sound of trickling water echoed off the rocky walls, but that wasn't an uncommon occurrence in limestone caves. The passage opened up and Aradia stepped into another cavern. This one was named the Grotto and it's defining feature, a waterfall of flowstone in translucent sheets nearly twenty feet long.

“ Oh, that's purrity,” Nepeta exclaimed as she entered the area. She was covered in mud from shoulder to knee, and Aradia was certain she was just as covered. “Hey, you got something on your face.”

She reached out and pressed her thumb across Aradia's cheek, smearing something cold and wet over her skin. “Oh no,” Aradia replied, laughing. “Did you get it?”

“ Yup,” Nepeta giggled back. She went on her toes and kissed the tip of Aradia's nose. “Bet you Dave will be worse.”

Aradia smirked. “No way, that's like a sucker's bet.”

When Dave emerged, he was worse than Nepeta, head to toe mud. “I didn't know that this would be a spa trip,” he joked. “Don't people pay good money for this, and I'm getting the whole thing for free.”

“ Rejuvenating too,” Nepeta replied with a laugh. “Oh, look at the flowstone! It's so pretty!”

“ It's very delicate,” Aradia put in as Nepeta walked closer to it. “A single touch can damage it!” The rest of the party entered the room as well, looking admiringly at the large feature. “Oh, but watch this!”

She carefully picked her way across the uneven floor until the flowstone was between her and everyone else. Aradia pulled her hand flashlight out of her bag and turned it on before aiming the beam at the flowstone. The light hit the stone and everyone on the other side gasped in admiringly. “Holy shit, don't move babe, I need a picture of this,” Dave said in awe. “Here kitten, hold my bag” Aradia heard rustling and then the sound of the shutter click from Dave's camera. “Damn, that's pretty,”

“ Thanks,” Aradia replied with a teasing laugh. She shifted the angle of the light, and Dave made a pleased noise before continuing to take pictures. “Just let me know when you're done, my arm's going to get tired.”

She heard a few more clicks and Dave called out, “Okay, that's good babe. “

Aradia turned the light off and looked around at the rest of the area. There were other flowstone formations around the edges of the cave, but none were quite as impressive as the main feature. She moved carefully back around to the rest of the group. Nepeta and Dave were looking at the pictures on his camera and the other three were looking at the smaller formations and talking among themselves. Dave was huddled up close to Nepeta. “Hey, are you okay?” Aradia asked. “You're not tired or anything?”

“ I'm fine,” Dave replied. He looked pleased that she asked though. “Maybe a little chilled, but if we keep moving, I should be okay.”

“ You need to say something if you get too cold or tired,” Nepeta said.

“ Yes dad,” Dave replied with a slight grin.

“ No lip from you, mister,” Aradia teased. “We mean it. It's a pain to carry a person through a cave and I don't want to do it again.”

“ Again?” Nepeta asked. “When was this?”

“ When I went to Tennessee two years ago,” Aradia replied. “A woman put her foot down wrong toward the end of the trip and fractured her fibula. The whole caving group had to take turns helping her back to the surface. Hey, Pietra, do you remember that trip?”

“ Oh, when Rachel broke her ankle?” Pietra asked, eyebrow raised. “It really sucked.”

“ Speaking of which, you guys wanna take a break?” Aradia asked.

“ A break already?” Dave asked in confusion.

“ Yeah, it's been like an hour already,” Nepeta replied.

They all found a place to sit on the ground, careful to not touch any formations. Aradia nibbled on an energy bar. There were two more caverns on the itinerary and they shouldn't take more than an hour. She was expecting that they would be done just after noon. She took a sip of water from her canteen and finished the bar with a final bite. “I'm going to figure out where the next passage is,” Aradia said as she stood, stashing the wrapper in her bag. “I won't leave your eyesight though.”

“ Got it,” replied Nepeta. “Be careful.”

“ I will,” Aradia replied. She walked between the formations and around the outside of the cavern. She found the passageway between two formations, the opening showing that they would have to duck down a little to enter. Her light illuminated the area as she peered down it, and she saw something that made her frown. “Hey, Pietra, come over here for a moment.”

Pietra hauled herself up and walked over. “What did you find?” Aradia gestured for her to take a look in the passageway. Pietra looked, tilted her head and adjusted her lamp. She made a disappointed noise. “Well, that's going to not work.”

There was standing water in the passage. It looked shallow from where they stood, but Aradia was pretty certain it was only going to get deeper. “This part of the cave isn't suppose to be flooded this time of the year,” she said.

“ We don't have the gear for water,” Pietra agreed. “and it's too much for your newbie boyfriend. Your girlfriend, maybe, but he's too green.”

“ I know,” Aradia replied with a frown. “Guess we'll have to cut the caving short.”

“ Is everything alright?” Nepeta asked from behind them.

Aradia shook her head. “The next passage has more water than it should. We don't think it'll be safe for us to continue.”

“ Maybe something was knocked loose. We'll have to let the owner know.” Pietra said in agreement. “Let's tell everyone else.”

They delivered the bad news to the other half of the group. Pietra's friends looked disappointed, but understanding. Dave looked a little relieved, but Aradia could see him trying to hide the reaction. They made sure there wasn't any trace of them in the cave and started the trek back to the surface. This time, Pietra led the group and Aradia brought up the rear. For some reason, the return trip always seemed faster, and it felt like no time had past when she wiggled her way from the cave and back into the warm spring air. She turned off her headlamp and pulled her helmet off, shaking out her long hair. Around the clearing, everyone was stripping away their muddy gear. Nepeta was down to just a pair of shorts and tank top, stretching out to bask in the rays of the sun. Dave stood as casually as he could while shielding his eyes from the light. “Are you going to make it?” she asked.

“ Yeah, I got this,” Dave said with clenched teeth. “Don't worry about it. I'm not getting the mud out of this shirt, am I?”

“ Probably not,” Aradia admitted. She unzipped her coverall and turned it inside out before folding it up to keep the mud off everything in her pack. “Did you have fun at least?”

“ Yeah, more fun than I'm going to have getting mud out of my hair later. I think it seeped through my pants and boxers too.”

“ We can help with that!” Nepeta teased.

After everyone was organized, the group started the walk back to camp. Despite having to cut the trip short, Aradia had to admit that it had been an excellent trip. “So, Dave, where do you want to go for your next caving adventure?”


End file.
